Haas poised for repeat at Riviera

Bill Haas makes his approach shot on the 13th fairway in the third round of the Northern Trust Open golf tournament at Riviera Country Club in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles, Saturday, Feb. 16, 2013. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)
— AP

Bill Haas makes his approach shot on the 13th fairway in the third round of the Northern Trust Open golf tournament at Riviera Country Club in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles, Saturday, Feb. 16, 2013. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)
/ AP

LOS ANGELES  At the Northern Trust Open, where the per capita on moronic, loudmouthed fans seems to be particularly high, Bill Haas got both ends of the spectrum on Saturday.

As Haas strode up the 18th fairway at Riviera Country Club, with a scoring standard bearer walking close by, one guy from behind the ropes said to his buddy, “Look at that. Jay Haas is 12-under.”

Thirty years ago, maybe, though Bill’s dad, Jay – now starring on the Champions Tour -- never won what was then called the Los Angeles Open.

Then there was the screamer at No. 17 who already wanted to hand Bill Haas the trophy with more than a round still to play. “Back-to-back!” If he was looking for a jinx, Haas got one.

Bill Haas does have a rare opportunity on Sunday. Neither his father nor his great uncle, 1968 Masters champion Bob Goalby, ever captured the same tournament in consecutive years. It’s hard to distinguish oneself in such a venerated golf family, but 30-year-old Bill Haas can do so with a second straight victory at Riviera.

Haas won the NTO last year with a birdie on the second playoff hole and has a three-shot lead heading into this year’s final round after shooting a stunning 7-under-par 64 on Saturday, when no one else in the field scored better than a 67.

The fan was getting ahead of himself with another trophy presentation, but Haas is trying not to.

“It’s very difficult in this game to pull away from the field,” Haas said. “You’ve only seen a few guys ever really do that. Guys like Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson.

“I think I’ve just got to try to stay in the moment, don’t let my emotions get the best of me.”

Haas has some pretty fair talent closely tracking him. In his final threesome will be reigning U.S. Open champion Webb Simpson, who is a good friend, and South African Charl Schwartzel, the 2011 Masters winner. Each shot 68 on Saturday.

Also three behind is UCLA alum John Merrick (70), and four back are former world No. 1 Luke Donald (70) and Swede Fredrik Jacobson, whose 1-over 72 included a whiff of his ball in the kikuyu rough at No. 5, leading to a double bogey.

“Bill shooting 7-under is incredible out there,” said Simpson. “It was very tough. I felt like my 3-under was pretty good.

“I think Bill is in a position, if he keeps a three-shot lead and goes and plays well again, it’s going to be tough to catch him. But with the golf course this tricky, and you get a guy who has a good front nine, I mean, he could be tied for the lead or even in the lead with nine to go.”

Haas goes into the final round having played his last 40 holes without suffering a bogey. On Saturday, he failed to birdie Riviera’s easiest hole, the par-5 first, and was cruising along at only 2-under for the round through 8. Then he birdied the tough ninth, chipped in from 57 feet for eagle at 10 and birdied the par-5 11th from 5 feet.

“Maybe it helped today that I didn’t birdie the first hole,” Haas said. “Because all of a sudden you think, ‘Oh, I lost a shot to the field.’ But I proved today that you can still play a good round not doing that.”

With four tour victories and the 2011 FedEx Cup championship in hand, Haas can certainly sit tall at the dinner table with his family. Jay Haas, now 59, won nine times on the PGA Tour, while Goalby, now 83 and living in Palm Springs, notched 11 wins, including the Masters title handed to him when Roberto De Vicenzo signed an incorrect scorecard.

“He won the Masters. It’s a big deal in our family,” Bill Haas said. “I love telling people that my great uncle is a Masters champion, and that’s how my dad got started, and that’s the reason I play the game.

“He talks about the whole De Vicenzo thing, but says what you think he would say. He won.”

Chip-ins

Phil Mickelson made his fourth bogey of the day on the 18th hole and shot 1-over 72 to fall into a tie for 17th place. Escondido High alum John Mallinger, tied for ninth entering the day, scored 78 and dropped into a tie for 58th. Second-round co-leader Sang-Moon Bae made five bogeys and one double bogey in shooting 76. He was tied for 13th.